Painting Woes – Peeling, Cracking and Bubbling

Paint can be an amazingly cost-effective way to totally refresh the look of the interior or exterior of your home. For homeowners who choose to paint their interior rooms, a mere change in color, an addition of texture, or painting an accent wall can entirely transform the mood of a room. Exterior painting can also have major benefits such as greatly increasing the home’s curb appeal or resale value. Unfortunately, unless the painting is done properly there can be underlying problems that will surface days, weeks, or even months down the road. These problems are painting woes known as peeling, cracking, and bubbling paint. Why does this happen and how can you prevent it from happening in your home? Let’s take a closer look.

• Surface Prep – Most problems of peeling, cracking, and bubbling start with improper preparation of the surfaces that will be painted. For example, interior walls and exterior surfaces should be cleaned and dried before the first coat of primer is applied. In some cases walls and surfaces should be sanded so the paint has a better shot at sticking properly. In addition, some homeowners do not know whether the original paint was latex or oil based paint. If oil based paint is put on top of latex paint, there will most definitely be bubbling or peeling.
• Quality of Paint – The old saying that, “You get what pay for,” is true for the quality of paint you choose to apply. Investing in quality paint could save you from dealing with hairline cracks, peeling paint, or finding a bubble or two.
• Environmental Conditions – Painting while it is too hot (above 90 degrees) or too cold (below 50 degrees) or when the dew point and humidity are high are considered unfavorable painting conditions. Paint that doesn’t have the right environmental conditions does not adhere well nor dry correctly, and then will bubble or peel later.
• Application – When painting any surface it is important not to apply the paint too thickly or too thinly. Thick paint can dry and later crack. Thin paint may peel or bubble. In addition to the amount of paint, it is important to use the correct tools to scrape, sand, and repair surfaces before painting.

Does all of this sound a little overwhelming? Call Jerry Enos Painting at 978-546-6843 or visit our website, Jerry Enos Painting, to find out more.

Categorised in: Jerry Enos, Painting Challenges